Ken D. Fisher (Primary Source)

Ken D. Fisher's indentification card issued by the Department of National Defence. The card shows that Mr. Fisher was a member of the Reserve in the 1970s.
(Courtesy of The Memory Project/Ken Fisher)

Transcript

My name is Ken Fisher. I had the privilege of serving in Canada's Reserve Armed Forces for a number of years. I entered as a private recruit. Was selected for officer training while a student at university, so it was under the ROUTP plan, which is the Reserve Officer University Training Plan. Spent time training at the Canadian Forces Base Shilo, in Manitoba, Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick, at Canadian Forces Base in Saskatchewan and Wainwright, Alberta. Then also had the privilege of taking the airborne parachute course at Edmonton.

I suppose a highlight for me was the airborne course. That was a very challenging course, with a great sense of accomplishment once it was completed. A lot of the things that we were issued while I was in the service, which was in the '70s, were World War II era, because that was the best stuff we could get. So my helmet, for example, is a World War II helmet, and the uniform was the old worsted wool uniform of World War II. And as a matter of fact, my first helmet that was issued was a World War I helmet – the British sort of basin helmet.

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